Participatory Urban Upgrading as a Pathway to Landslide Risk Reduction in Informal Settlements: A Case Study from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Landslides in urban areas inhabited by socioeconomically vulnerable populations frequently result in high-magnitude disasters. In such settings, landslide hazard and social vulnerability are intrinsically coupled. Informal settlements (favelas), widespread in the Global South and often established on hillslopes, exemplify this condition due to unplanned occupation and persistent deficiencies in public services and infrastructure. In these contexts, risk reduction strategies must go beyond interventions exclusively focused on slope stabilization.

This paper presents and discusses a participatory project developed in 2023 in an informal settlement in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, aimed at integrating landslide risk reduction with urban upgrading as a pathway to strengthening urban resilience. The project adopted an interdisciplinary and intersectoral approach, combining architecture and urban planning, sociology, and geotechnical engineering, with the active involvement of researchers and students from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, local civil society organizations, and municipal government agencies. Consistent with the principles of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, local residents actively participated in defining the intervention area, conducting a socio-environmental diagnosis, and co-developing improvement proposals.

The study area, Travessa Laurinda, comprises more than 100 dwellings and is characterized by steep slopes (≈35°), intensely fractured weathered rock outcropping or underlying a thin soil layer, influenced by groundwater flow with spring points, strong anthropogenic modification related to housing construction, and past landslides.

The project began with a participatory socio-environmental diagnosis based on interviews with residents (62 households), local organizations, and consultations with municipal agencies related to geology, solid waste management and environmental issues. This process enabled the identification of physical and social vulnerabilities, local capacities, priority demands, and risk perception patterns. Urban intervention concepts initially proposed by the academic team were discussed and refined through dialogue with residents, reinforcing co-production of knowledge and solutions.

Results indicate that residents’ main demands are closely linked to landslide risk drivers, including inadequate sewage and drainage systems, waste disposal, lack of vegetation, and the absence of slope stabilization measures. Accessibility emerged as the most critical issue, recognized as a key factor for emergency evacuation, disaster response, and everyday urban resilience. The participatory process also supported the development of thematic maps, including the integration of residents’ perceived landslide hazard levels with the presence of structural cracks in dwellings, contributing to the identification of critical risk areas by municipal authorities.

Based on the diagnosis, an integrated project for structural urban improvement measures was proposed, combining risk reduction measures such as surface and subsurface drainage, solid waste management, stairway construction, and access paving. The outcomes were consolidated into a “Participatory and Propositive Socio-environmental Diagnosis” and an “Urban Proposals Booklet for Travessa Laurinda,” delivered to local organizations as an advocacy tool to support the implementation of collectively defined actions. The experience highlights the role of participatory, place-based approaches in addressing urban risk dynamics and enhancing resilience in rapidly changing cities. After the success of this experiment, the work continues, focusing on a different area of the favela each year.